Beauty and the Beast
She tapped her fingers on the chair she sat in. Having decided to return to the countryside home she stole from her forebears, she now watched the sunset with a wine glass in hand. It was a beautiful spot for the end of a wonderful day. There was to be company soon, but it was something that did not matter to her. She was just as comfortable hiding within a pseudonym as she was sitting outside in wait. Try as she might, being a former World Noble meant the mindset of invulnerability was still there at times. At least she had parted with that silly god-forsaken hairstyle; not that her grandmother allowed her to wear it. Her grandmother: Esperanza's expression saddened. The fire breather who refused to let her granddaughter become another overstuffed, slothful pig. "Fireheart" had been the name given to Esper by this larger than life figure. One who had married into the family when her daughter was chosen to marry a Windsor son. Esperanza sighed as she thought about her next move. The world was a large place with infinite possibilities after all. Croconon slammed his fist on the front door, leaving a hole in it. He had been hired by some woman, a job involving killing some nuisance to her. He truly didn't care, the pay was good, and the house was nice. "Maybe she'll have some good food..." the beast thought, looking up at the sky. It was an orange, which probably meant that sun was setting. He sighed in exasperation as he waited for someone, a servant, the woman, a pig even to open the damn door. Her solace out back was interrupted by the abrupt sound of a door being punched. Despite the apparent frustration of the individual, she did not move. If they were as motivated as they were, then they could find their own way into the home. While Esperanza had pilfered this place from her estranged family members, she wouldn't mind leaving it a mess. She specialized in life's little inconveniences across the spectrum. So she sipped from her wine glass instead, counting the stars as they appeared in a clear night sky, the sun having retreated to the horizon. Croconon sighed in exasperation, as he pushed the door, sending it flying into the household. He stepped inside the mansion, looking into the fridge for food. He spotted a few steaks, and he pulled them out, devouring them within seconds. He looked around, and took in a whiff of the area. ''"Human meat..." ''he thought to himself, smelling the scent of a human. He followed his nose, eventually finding a woman sitting in a chair. "Oi," he began, standing cross-armed. "You that Esperanza D. Windsor chick?" She set her wine glass down, the vessel now empty as she monitored the skyline for a second longer. "And you would be?" Esperanza asked, ignoring his question as she stood, tapping that same glass as it shuddered, growing larger until a sizable gun rested in her left hand. Her azure gaze raked over his figure. Far taller than her: it simply meant a larger target. "I suppose you're here for one reason only..." Croconon chuckled, which sounded like a chainsaw. "You're smart. You'll figure it out." he replied, ripping out a pillar from his surrounding. With one arm, he sent it flying towards the woman. If his target was as skilled as his employer made her out to be, this fight would end up being interesting. As the pillar flew towards her, Croconon changed his footing as a precaution against the woman. Staring at the projectile coming towards her, Esper measured its speed. Upon it coming close, she jumped, running along the pillar before firing her gun several times at the lizard man. "I plan on charging you for all of this property damage you know. So I hope your bottom line is in order." She landed on the ground once more. As the gun fired its bullets, Croconon raised his hand in order to block it. The bullets stung, but they were simple lead bullets, nothing too dangerous. Croconon snarled. "Bwah hah hah! You think I'll even have to care about something so mediocre? Once I kill you, there will be no need for me to have to pay those fees!" he boasted, looking down at the woman. "Now, come at me! I'll have fun ripping you to pieces!" She stared at him before bursting into laughter. "I think not. You aren't the first who's tried and you won't be the last either." She switched out her gun's magazine, smiling as she walked closer before sprinting. As Esperanza bore down, she dived into a slide, skirting between his legs as she began firing upwards before gliding into the home's entrance. Going into a roll, she stood once more inside before pointing her gun at him once more "That's fine, this isn't my house anyway." He cursed under his breath as he noticed the woman changing magazines. No doubt she was changing to a different, more effective kind of bullet. As she began to slide under him, he used his leg muscles to launch foward, one of the bullets grazing by his arm. It left a mark, and the beast scowled. "Nice moves, girly. But it'll take more than that to defeat me. After all, your bounty isn't a whole lot." She brushed herself off. "I suppose 100,000,000 isn't much these days is it?" She strapped the weapon to her back as she shifted into a stance, moving from side to side slowly as she stretched. "Well? You're not afraid of a woman are you?" Esperanza taunted. The monster snarled, a sound as if two chainsaws were rubbing against each other. "You would like that, wouldn't you?" he retorted, jumping into the air. "Reptile Spinning Strike!" he yelled, beginning to spin rapidly, he flew around in the air before launching himself towards Esperanza at high speed. She yawned. He was fast. Waiting until he was close, Esperanza raised her right leg, using the momentum she generated earlier to level a monstrous kick at the side of his face. It appeared that being a former WN meant everyone expected her to be soft and plushy. Her grandmother would never allow that disposition to take place. Croconon was launched back, but he landed safely after crashing through a few pillars. "Tch. That kick was decent. Could have had better form." he began, preparing for his next strike. "But you're nothing more than a little girl, you can't do anything other than shoot and kick." he spat, yearning for a rise out of her. His stance changed, cracking his knuckles. ''"Invisible Scale Rain." ''he thought, whipping his arm out. Some scale flew off, at such high speeds that they were almost invisible. The rise wouldn't come. She was focused on evading his attack, executing several twists and turns as she fell into a ; each movement was faster than the last, with each one taking her closer to Croc. Executing a high spin to generate enough airtime, she brought down her leg in drop kick format on top of his head, using every ounce built earlier to make up the height deficit. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," she said, repeating one of her grandmother's favorite phrases. Croconon quickly launched himself back, letting the woman slam her foot down, leaving a crack in the floor. He smirked, his brain had begun to formulate a plan. He looked at the woman, giving her a quick look, down-up. If the circumstances were different...he shook the thoughts out of his head. They were nothing more than nuisances. The beast lifted one of his arms into the air, and slammed it to the ground, causing for the upper floor to cave in. That quick one over did not elude her. "Look do not touch." Esperanza launched herself forward as the cave in began. "So, how much are they paying you to kill me?" Esper asked as she executed several somersaults with ease, neatly evading the collapsing floor above. "You'll have to do better than that lizard man," she noted, leveraging herself as she kicked several falling pieces towards him, never stopping her movement all the while. The beast chuckled, an ear-wrenching sound. "They're paying me three times your bounty." he began, smirking at the girls insult. "Oh, I was just...creating some weapons." he finished, lifting up a large chunk off the ground with his left arm, sending it spiralling towards the woman at speeds similar to the spiralling attack. The Windsor snickered as she split the large chunk in two with a well placed kick. "That's all? I was hoping they were paying you something more substantial. What if I could offer you ten times my bounty?" she asked. Spiraling backwards in a somersault motion, she hooked her legs around each piece before executing a spinning handstand. Once the timing was right, she slung each of them at the lizard man. The Reptilinoid launched himself under her, avoiding her strike. "Ten times your bounty?" he asked, now interested. "What would you be paying me for?" he questioned, sending two chunks towards her this time around, spinning at high speeds. He entered a different stance prepared for what was to come. "Well, you are clearly a mercenary, so I would be paying you to accomplish tasks. Executing my enemies for one. Secondly, I want you to gather information for me; especially comings and goings in the circles that you already have access to. Discontent is a powerful tool for change." She circled back, bringing her hand crashing down on both. Esperanza then stopped, standing as the crumbling of the upper floor ceased. "Third, when you find new threats, you have my personal blessing to destroy them however you deem fit, unless they are beneficial as a distraction or information." Croconon sighed. "Hm..." he pondered, casually tossing a few more chunks at her, as if it were nothing. "I'd like the pay, but I'd have to keep all this energy in me, the one that wants me to crush you to pieces." he finished, tossing yet another chunk, faster than the rest. "You know what I mean?" She moves forward, swaying as she neatly evades each until coming to a stop in front of him. Esper tsks. "Unfortunate isn't it? I may have an alternative for you though, where you can empty out all of that pent up energy. That is, if you're willing to go with me on this little adventure," she said, her eyes two reflecting pools of blue as she remembered his one-over from earlier. The beast looked genuinely perplexed. It seemed as if she was...but it couldn't be? Croconon decided to go along with the woman's proposition. "I believe I know where you're going with this...I'll oblige, this time around, Windsor." "Wonderful." With ease she jumped, locking her legs around his waist. She then leaned backwards, her legs muscles straining as she somersaulted backwards, flipping the beast onto his back while she landed atop. "Better. Now...where was I..." she said, leaning downwards as she begin mapping his form. First tracing it with a hand, then using another instrument to do so. The Reptilinoid maintained a monotone expression as the woman traced her hand along his body, but couldn't help but smirk as she began to utilize something else to do so. He wrapped an arm around the woman, pulling her closer as everything began to unfold. She consented, moving upwards methodically. A small smirk played at the corners of her lips as she reached her destination, warmth flowing through her person as they gradually moved from one thing to the next, diving headfirst into a land of lust and bliss. ---- Esperanza stirred slowly, eyes opening as she stared at the ceiling. Part of her still felt the aches and pains from a past event, an untested system broken into with reckless abandon. She stood gingerly, testing her leg strength. Though a little wobbly at first, Esper would find her land legs once more. The woman bit her lip as her stomach growled angrily; apparently that took much more energy than expected. With her mind made up, the woman walked leisurely to the one place where she could find what she needed: the kitchen. The Beat groaned. What had happened? Then it all came crashing upon him, the rememberance of what they had done, a sin in its purest form. He rose to his feet, albeit shakily. He leaned on the wall for support, having not stood for hours. The Reptilinoid yawned and stretched, a feat which would signal Esperanza that he had woken. His stomach did not growl, it roared, yearning for fuel. With a goal in mind, Croconon made his way to the kitchen. When she opened her refrigerator, she would be disappointed by what remained. She glared at the lumbering Croc as he stumbled in. "Really? Raiding my refrigerator? What the hell man?" she said, cursing in very unnoble-like fashion. Esper had been looking forward to those steaks for a while now. Alas, they went down his gullet hours earlier. Miffed, she settled on some fruit instead, grabbing a couple of apples, oranges and bananas before downing them one by one. Her stomach continued protesting, looking for something more substantial. Croconon snarled, a sound which tore at ones eardrums. "If I was hungry, I was hungry." he spat, looking into the fridge. He pulled out an apple pie, and gave it a quick whiff. His expression became even more horrendous as he threw the pie towards a wall, searching through the fridge. He spotted a few more steaks, which had been hiding behind some vegetables. There was three, and grabbing them all, he threw one at Windsor, before downing the remaining two. He turned towards the woman and stood cross-armed. "My payment?" he asked, wanting the earlier payment she had promised him. She caught the steak before snapping it up, bone and all. "That's bullshit and you know it. You think you can just waltz into people's houses and eat all of their food? That's my job dammit, find your own gig," Esper retorted. When he requested the payment he was promised the woman smirked. "Well, it might be just a bit smaller than you expected. Let's see, you raided my refrigerator, broke down my door, caved in a floor of my home, and broke several pillars. I would say that you're looking at about half the amount now. Should have thought twice about causing all of that property damage." The Croc snarled. "You said you didn't care about the fucking house." he spat walking over to her. His murderous intent practially visible. "Don't go back on your promise. Or I'll finish you right now, woman." he said, grabbing some more food from the fridge and gulfing it down. She was unbowed by his pissy behavior. "I don't, but at the moment I am living here. It's not my intention to live in a dump," Esper spat before slamming the refrigerator door shut. "Stop helping yourself to everything you see hoe or you can forget about the money. Also, clean out your eardrums. Did I ever make a promise? No, I simply made a suggestion. Any businessman worth their salt would know the difference." The Reptilinoid snarled, crushing a few of the edibles in the fridge. "Fuckin' bitch. So what, my payments only going to be 500,000,000?" the mercenary questioned, looking around the destroyed residence. He downed the crushed edibles, finally soothing the raging hunger within himself. "How will I be paid?" "Now now, I know your mother taught you to not curse or be a misogynist. But yes, your payment will be exactly that," she responded before wagging a finger. "You will receive it in installments of ten, namely 50,000,000 a piece. That way you can't spend it all at once; think of the next installment as something to look forward to. Your first installment is available now." Moving to another part of the room, she took out a bag with the exact amount. Returning, she tossed it to him. Croonon grinned, grabbing the bag as it was in the air. He opened it, and took a quick look through. Once he was sure, he closed the bag and looked down at Windsor. He scratched the top of his head as he yawned. "So, my first task?" he questioned Windsor, leaning against one of the walls. Croconon stared at the woman intently, his reptilian eyes staring straight into her human pupils. She grinned as she munched on her sixth apple. "It's simple. Do what you were craving earlier; rip people to shreds. Only thing is I have a couple of specific names in mind," Esperanza commented, before pulling out a list. There were three names present; all individuals whose untimely demises would allow her to generate further instability within that pesky WG. All of them were accessible. She tossed this list to Croc. "Start with these three. Take care of them and you'll find your next installment waiting for you," she said, her expression impassive as the Reptilinoid met his gaze unflinchingly. Croconon scowled as he looked through the list. He was going to object, but then he heard the promise of money. As long as he got paid, and he got kill people, the creature was happy. He looked at the woman, and gave her another once over. He held on to the duffel bag filled with money and turned away. "That was fun..." he said, taking his leave. She smirked, leaning against the counter as she finished the food in her hand. "I figured you would like it. One more thing, feel free to end them however you would like. Just make sure it's not relatable to either of us." As he left, Esperanza opened the refrigerator once more, pulling out two large sausages before devouring them whole. Thinking nothing of it, she walked through the expanse, returning to her outside chair with a new wine glass. Settling in, the woman smiled at the blue sky. "It's a beautiful day."